August 10, 1999
Dear Reader:
There is no getting around it: Information technology (IT) is here to stay. IT is an increasingly more important part of our work and an increasingly more important part of our economy.
More and more our lives involve some kind of interaction with IT whether it is buying products over the Internet, perusing the want ads on-line, leaving a voice mail message, or buying the latest computer. The challenge for community action agencies is how to use information technologies to enhance our abilities to serve our clients.
When we started this project we made a conscious effort to put IT into perspective, to frame it in the context of the organization, subordinate it, if you will, to our mission of helping low-income people become self-sufficient.
We are excited to present this report, Crossing the Digital Divide. It is a comprehensive look at the IT needs and capacities of MASSCAP members and contains important recommendations.
In Crossing the Digital Divide you will read that we discovered during the research that every CAA in Massachusetts has adequate if not state of the art equipment. We also found that each was wrestling with the question of how to use IT to its best effect.
In addition, we found that each agency was facing challenges related to the collection and reporting of client data to multiple funding sources. We also found that each agency recognizes the need for significant resources to maintain and improve its IT infrastructure. And, virtually every agency, expressed a need for consistent and effective IT training for staff.
The recommendations in Crossing the Digital Divide include working closely with state and federal funders to refine the challenges of client data collection and reporting, and developing strategies to address those challenges; working with private funders to access resources for IT maintenance and improvement; suggestions for approaches to IT training; IT policies and procedures; and, community technology centers designed to provide access for our clients to IT.
Ground-breaking reports like Crossing the Digital Divide represent the efforts of many people. I want to take this opportunity to thank many people for their indispensable help in completing Crossing the Digital Divide.
MASSCAP's IT Committee for its guidance;
Alwin Schmidt for conducting researching and writing the report;
Irma Gonzalez and Tom Schiff of Zoen Resources conducting research and contributing to the writing of the report;
MASSCAP members for their universal participation and commitment to the project.
The quality of this report is due to their efforts.
As you know, CAAs were created in the 1960s by Congress to combat poverty and to help low-income people achieve self-sufficiency. In Massachusetts, 25 CAAs provide basic support services, education and training services, and advocacy services to low-income people living in virtually every city and town in the Commonwealth. Together these agencies are represented by MASSCAP.
As group, MASSCAP members believe that low-income people should be treated with dignity and supported in their efforts to become self-sufficient. We believe in empowering people to take control of their own lives and communities in spite of individual and societal barriers to this end. It is our role to speak out and to support the low-income community's efforts to integrate more effectively into all aspects of society. We believe in the strength of collaboration, both internally and externally, to enable us to adapt to the changes in society and the emerging needs to the low-income community.
A better understanding and mastery of information technology is an absolutely critical step for low-income people. It is in fact a very real form of literacy in today's world. We as organizations that work with and for low-income people must be on the cutting edge of technology. We must help low-income people cross the digital divide.
Alan C. Sax
Chair, MASSCAP Information Technology Committee